Flight Instinct
by The Ryuu Victoire Tea Party
Summary: Harbingers In A Fountain. Moments from the episode, picked apart and analyzed. Very much BB
1. Part One

Brennan was the kind of woman who stood her ground. She'd broken wrists, slapped, punched, kicked and shot people, always when she was being threatened or when someone else was. Brennan stood her ground and kicked danger in the balls (pardon the colloquialism.)

The doctor's eyes were crazed, crazed with fear. This paediatrician who'd administered life-threatening poison to twelve people- his past had caught up to him, and she was responsible. She'd taken one look at the scalpel in his hand, and her heart had jumped to her throat.

The small space and the slippery floors- for some reason, Brennan had fled.

The door wouldn't open, so she turned around and did what she should have done in the first place. Her mind was racing, for some unknown reason, she felt afraid. She didn't doubt herself. Temperance Brennan almost never questioned her abilities, her knowledge of anatomy, martial arts, and shooting gave her confidence when it came to fighting for her life. Maybe she was out of practice- but something was wrong, she was terrified.

She tried hitting the murdering doctor, and her hits felt weak, her throws and punches felt badly controlled- she wasn't hitting like Temperance Brennan- she was hitting like a scared, feeble teenager.

Pain shot through her entire arm as she stumbled back, the scalpel lodged into her forearm and she fell, fell, and a tremendous sound rang in her ears. She looked back just in time to see Booth with a gun raised in the air, his face solemn as he killed yet another man- standing in a broken doorway.

"Bones, you alright?" he asked quickly, walking into the hallway. "Your arm…"

"What?"

He was by her in a moment, gun put aside, his arms holding her, and she let herself slide further into him, unable to hold herself up.

Her hand went to her forearm, her eyes trained on the blackness of the blood drenching her jacket. "Don't pull it out, Bones, don't touch that-" she'd already tore the scalpel from her flesh, breathing heavily, and he immediately put pressure on her arm, hurting her even more, "Easy, gotcha? Okay?" he said again and Brennan put her hand on his arm encircling her, holding on.

"Thank you," she managed to whisper. She wasn't the type who thanked God for saving her, she wasn't the type who wanted saving, ever, but now, this moment, she needed him to be there, warm, and very much alive, next to her, holding her.

"Keep pressure on the wound…" she ask, closing her eyes, and immediately she felt his large hand clamp down extremely tightly, and she closed her eyes from the pain, but also in relief, despite her heart thumping against her chest, she felt oddly peaceful, as if she was about to cry in relief.

She held on to him as he whispered over her, holding her against his body, leaning on the counter. He told her to calm down, that it was okay- _I'm here, trust me, trust me…_

Of course she trusted him- she loved him. And these weeks apart seemed to volatize, to vanish for these instants, because he was back, he was alive. She was the one who had just been attacked, but in reality, he was the one she'd been more afraid of losing. She couldn't lose him- she couldn't.

"Shhh….gotcha, gotcha…easy there, Bones, breathe, I'm going to take care of ya, I'm not going anywhere…"

He kissed the top of her head, "I got ya', baby."

She didn't know what to think of him calling her baby, she barely noticed, it was more of an afterthought, as she nestled her face into his shirt, trying desperately to hold her tears inside, to calm her raging nerves, to calm her incredible happiness at him being there, all around her.

She briefly reminded herself of all the times he had saved her, or tried to look out for her, or tried to protect her, all the times he'd touched her, smiled, held her. She held on to him for a while, until backup came, until they gingerly disentangled themselves, when he let the medics take her, when he spoke to a few other agents, spoke to Carolyn on the phone- when Brennan was hauled away, protesting at having to lie on a stretcher, he watched her leave, sighing, feeling incredibly hollow. He shouldn't have let her go there alone- he should have been with her, and then she wouldn't be hurt.


	2. Part Two

**I think its no secret, but Seasons 3 and 4 were complete shite. I have a few beloved scenes, yes, and every now and then I love the cases and the random jokes, and Sweets goes from extremely irritating to hilarious, but that's only about ten percent of both seasons- I am crossing my fingers and crossing my heart that season 5 won't be total crap. The season 4 finale did have me genuinely smiling from beginning to end- I'm hoping that's the start of a trend. Man I miss the indie vibe and the cool shots and the mad sexy writing- Fuck.**

**Ahhh…. I miss season 2. Which is why I'm going to be a little nostalgic on yo' ass in this oneshot. **

**Remember Judas on a pole?**

Flight Instinct

Part Two

He could remember the last time he'd lost control like that. Really, really lost control, heck, if it hadn't been for wonder boy Zack, he'd have kissed her. Drawn her close, shown her that she was his, and that he was her family, that he would never drive away like that, betray her like that…

It was the second time she'd seen her family disappear, and watching her cuffed to that bench, staring at him with wide eyes, her heart racing- the entire case had been a whirlwind of emotion and fake guy hugs (_nobody_, nobody straight anyways, hugs a guy like that).

They were on the sidewalk, by the diner, not too far away from where they were last night, and his fingertips were grazing her chin, holding her face up to meet her eyes. God she was beautiful, her eyes shining with well restrained tears. He could have kissed her, and he could feel his shoulders leaning forward when Zack banged on the dinner window, and they both turned to see the Squint Squad Extraordinaire looking at them from inside.

They went inside, both smiling, and he tried not to think about how it would have looked if Cam had seen him kiss her, or if she'd even noticed how much he'd dammed _wanted _to.

"I love you."

He couldn't help it. He'd paused a moment, but his mind was completely blank. When he looked up, and saw her eyes, the words literally flew from his lips, and he couldn't believe he'd said it. She'd asked him what he'd been about to say, and he couldn't control it- he couldn't control his heart, the way he swallowed nervously, the way his eyes were drilling holes into hers, trying to figure if her expression was one of pure horror or shock or something else- he remembered Cam's words. He was going to crack the shell, and fuck, he wasn't even half sure he should be doing that in the first place.

He remembered _her. _This other version of Bones, a woman with the same skin and mouth and hands and eyes- a woman with red lipstick and a sassy smile, with blue eyes that looked at him with _love_, a woman who he'd shared his soul with. A woman he'd called Bren- fuck, he missed her. But it was more twisted than that, he could completely remember Bones. And the cases, and the missed kisses and arguments and all of their issues. He remembered Parker, and his gambling problem (he hadn't been feeling all the effects of that problem since the coma, and was very thankful for that), and he remembered to go to Church the first Sunday he could. He remembered Rebecca's body, and the pain of rejection, the doubt at being a father. He remembered this life, completely. And he knew Sweets wasn't a bartender, Angela wasn't a completely ditsy hostess, Hodgin's wasn't a drunk novelist (he still was a conspiracy theorist, though, so things _never _change.)

He remembered (and was in love with) a complete fabrication of his medication-addled brain. A coma-symptom, this love he felt for her. Then why, when he looked into Temperance Brennan's eyes, Bone's eyes, why did he feel like the entire world was melting away slowly, leaving only her and her wide eyes staring at him dumbfounded?

For crying out loud, he chastised himself, I'm acting like a teenager who has never been in love.

He is in love with her, that's for sure.

"You know, in the professional sense…" he takes it all back, but sugarcoats it. Her look softens into confusion. "In an attagirl kind of way." He knocks her on the shoulder, and regrets it immediately.

Then she smiles, very, very discretely, repeating his words. Finally, as if relieved, she decides to acknowledge that she can has a window to flee her own fears, and she smiles, hitting him in the chest.

"Right back at you, Booth." She makes a big show, "I love you too!" nearly shouting, but it's empty of emotion, and Booth feels like an empty steel container.

This is all wrong, and he shouldn't have told her this here, not now, everything was wrong, and its only when Carolyn appears seemingly out of nowhere to put them both out of their misery, that Booth breathes a little bit better.


End file.
